draconitefandomcom-20200213-history
Incarnate Journey
Incarnate Journey is the first book in the Legacy Incarnate series by S.A. Thorup, and the 7th installment of the Chronicles of Libera. Cover art The author did a blog post on some ideas she had for the cover art and finally revealed the art that would be on the front cover. It features Sabra kneeling with her hands clasped before her mouth in a prayer-like pose. The picture is called "I am here.' Plot Summary Epilogue In 141 AA, Lithia McCail traveled to Tyrell as Mistress of Tigerdowns to meet with soran Elemsra, along with several other ambassadors. When she arrived at Vartün, she met Sabra the Incarnate. After a feast, Lithia inquired why Sabra left Zanoll so many years ago. After some thought, Sabra began to tell Lithia her story. Main Body Death of a King When Sabra was 60 years old, Henry Bunckle was suffering from an unnamed ailment at age 65. Both of them had abdicated the throne to Devin Bunckle, while their youngest daughter, Adair, acted as a royal ambassador in Zanoll. Sabra acte as regent queen. Kiaser Cherklk, who is a far-traveling merchant by this point, visited Zanoll to renew friendship with Sabra and the royal family, as he has had to develop good relations with them for trade. He proposed trade of Fireleaf, a herb from Hakor that could be used to track down "demonic" beings as well as be used for healing properties. Sabra and Devin agreed to consider the matter. Later, Sabra met privately with Kiaser to learn more about the Fireleaf, and he mentioned the Hunters and how they used Fireleaf to track down a demonic creature. He showed her a golden tooth before leaving. After their meeting, Sabra learned Henry was going into a torturous seizure and hurried to see him. Doctors and nurses attempted to calm him, and the head doctor finally gave Henry a depressant to calm his heart. Henry calmed down for the night, and Sabra stayed at his side. Devin tried to feed Sabra, but to no avail, and he leaft her alone with his father. Sabra prayed for his life, and Henry told her to find a Unia'a to marry and take care of her. She promised to do so, and Henry passed on. Era of Madness After Henry's death, Sabra began to drown in grief and a self-imposed madness where she began to lose track of her identity as the Incarnate. Five years after his death, Tasaru Krohn visited Sabra with Kyrak Krohn to offer her condolences. They offered her her early birthday gift, an exquisite suit of white steel armor created by the Blacksmiths of Ramirra. This suit, which Sabra later named Adel, was kept in Sabra's study for the next seven years after Tasaru left, and Sabra never wore it during that time, further pushing herself into dark grief and loss of self-esteem. She stayed out of the public eye when Zanollians began to dislike her for not heeding their demands. During this time Sabra spent much of her time in the eastern castle wing. She was shown burning stationery, although it was unknown what she was writing, or why. The Journey Twelve years from Henry's death, Kiaser visited the castle to renew relationships with the royal family, and was disturbed to find out about Sabra's new status as "lady" instead of "queen" and her mental instability. Furious and concerned with her attitude of being "nothing", he challenged Sabra to a duel: if she won, he would be her servant, but if she lost, she would leave Zanoll with him for a minimum of ten years. Sabra took the challenge, donning her saurian armor and fighting Kiaser with her dagger and magic. This was the first time in the Chronicles of Libera she was shown displaying the flames of the Moonstone, a powerful spell from the Moonstone used through the Mark of the Moonstone. Kiaser won the battle and offered her death, but she agreed to leave with him. After she offered empty goodbyes to her children and a tearful plea to her father to ask the gods' forgiveness, she left with Kiaser by boat from Mal'ur. From this point on, the two agreed she would go by the alias "Icariu". While at sea, Kiaser and Sabra trained together to improve her fighting skills. She learned he was spared by Luna to bring Sabra back from the brink of insanity. Also while at sea, Sabra met the wingless lupogryph Oxuual. At one point a giant serpent of glass attacked the ship, and Oxuual defeated it with a powerful burst of freezing manna. Sabra learned during this time that Oxuual was a Hunter. Oxuual's attitude towards Sabra, that of mocking pity, put Sabra on edge, and Sabra determined Oxuual was not the best person to be around. Sabra, Kiaser, Oxuual, and three other lupogryphs (Fran, Kratchek, and Valer) get off at Hope Islands at Seamoth Port, while the rest of the ship's crew sets sail elsewhere. They enjoyed a drink and a game of slap-down with some humans waiting for their next ride. Sabra and Fran took the opportunity at port to bathe in a stream further in the jungle and talk, wherein Fran told Sabra she knows she's the Incarnate. Sabra afterward reprimands Kiaser for telling people about who she is, although Fran implied she knew regardless of what Kiaser said. A trimaran arrived at dock, captained by the Unia'a Brevandor. The companions boarded the ship and headed to Hakor. The Hunters The group arrived in North Myrl and stayed briefly at an inn, where Oxuual retrieved her steed, a brooder. While Sabra slept, Oxuual attempted to touch her with her talon, but Kiaser warned her off. They flew (and rode, in Oxuual's case) across North Myrl to the north, stopping once in one of the crater cities. A barrier had been erected around the crater, in which Fran was captured accidentally. She was released by some Kkmar Clan shamans. The group found refuge in another inn, where Sabra experienced a terrible nightmare about Henry, King Duane, and the redsnake virus consuming her body. Oxuual learned Sabra's real name, and the group proceeded eastward. The volcano above Ashe erupted and covered part of the city in muddy ash, and when Sabra tried to go and help the city, Oxuual captured her and drained her of magic. Kiaser and Kratchek scuffled with Oxuual and she vanishes. The reader learns that Oxuual transported to the throne room of the Golden One, and she was subsequently tortured as punishment for not capturing Sabra. Sabra and the others weren't found very welcome in Ashe, and Sabra prayed for the gods to clear the air of ash. When they did, Sabra thanked them and took a major step in recovering her identity. Afterward, the five companions traveled to the MeKkeya Maze City to join Kiaser's family. Sabra became jealous of Kiaser because of his family, but later apologized and became a member of their family. Oxuual appeared in the Tower of Rain disguised as a human after everyone else had gone to bed and blackmailed Kiaser into turning over Sabra to the Hunters. While Kiaser, Sabra, and the others traveled eastward into Trio, they were attacked by the Hunters and Sabra was stolen away by Oxuual. Sabra was imprisoned and tortured by the Hunters. At one point she met the Golden One, who offered love and leadership to her, but Sabra refused. When Sabra was returned to her cell, she learned about the Golden One through a vision granted by Luna, and learned that he was a fallen prophet that built the Lunar Temple for Luna before he was seduced by dark ideas granted to him by the demon Brtil. Sabra was commanded not to be angry, and she tried to forgive the Golden One for all that he had done. The Golden One later tortured her through the Extraction of the Disobedient, using the golden claws and draining her of magic while scarring her. Sabra went unconscious, and after she awoke met Tarcua, an ex-Hunter who had sneaked into the prisons to assist her, telling her he was sent from High Priest Aaron. Sabra realized she could use the Moonstone to store magical energy, even in the subduing prison of the Hunters, to destroy the Golden One. Sabra destroyed Oxuual, the Golden One, and all the Hunters in the Temple underground using the flames of the Moonstone. She even destroyed all their animals and possessions. She freed the other prisoners and only left the Hunter Zentag alive before they leave the smoldering tunnels. She walked through the Hall of the Moon and collapsed outside the main doors and atop the Temple steps. When she awoke, she found Tarcua and Whitney attending to the wounds on her back before they leave the room. Sabra started to recognize Whitney, most likely through her elven instinct to recognize family, but something blocked her from knowing the truth. Sabra awoke and donned Adel for the first time in about a month, and healed Zentag from being a Hunter like Aaron did for Tarcua. She also received instruction on how to redeem the Lunar Temple. She went through a spiritual and religious ceremony, some of it symbolical, and sealed off the tunnels to keep them clean. When she went outside and finished the ceremony, light enveloped Adel and the Lunar Temple, and it became clean and pure once more. About a year after the Lunar Temple's redemption, Sabra wrote a letter to High Priest Aaron to let her know that she was well, and that she had been redeemed. Aaron and Tarcua's story Throughout the manuscript, the story followed the adventure of High Priest Aaron while Sabra was on her journey. While in Zanoll, Aaron investigated the shipments of Fireleaf being illegally shipped into the country. He learned that one of his old friends, Yuqer, had been one of several people and groups purchasing the Fireleaf, probably without knowing its legality. He went to speak with Yuqer, whose caravan was in the Battleground of Conn. She flirted with him and spoke with him about the Fireleaf, and Aaron learned that the Golden One was sending her disturbing visions when she smoked the Fireleaf. Aaron and his Crin escort Captain Vine took Yuqer northward. A flight of Hakaan soldiers picked up the sick Yuqer and brought her to Fort Le'vani, and Aaron and Vine met her there. A sorceress named Avril spoke with Aaron about Yuqer's condition and told him about Tarcua. Aaron met Tarcua, then a full-blown Hunter with the ability to drain magic out of magic-makers. Tarcua sensed the potent divine power Aaron possessed through the Sunstone, and tried to attack him. Aaron at first had a bad impression about Tarcua, and after speaking more to Yuqer about her addiction to the Fireleaf, prayed to his gods about what to do. They provided insight that he may be able to take away this addiction he had, a curse that did not belong to him. Aaron decided to store the power of the Sunstone inside of him without casting it, a task that took three days of meditation and solitude. Aaron visited Tarcua and through physical contact burnt out the "gift" of the Hunters to extract manna. Tarcua recovered much better under Avril's care and gained a voracious appetite for real food. Also while at the fort, Aaron watched Tarcua experiment with elements and deduced he was a mage. Avril tested Tarcua and discovered he was a metal mage, able to manipulate metals into different shapes. Tarcua was assigned to the blacksmith Chuck Blaehr to help with minor weapon fixes. Yuqer recovered from her withdrawals and was allowed to return to the Yuqerins. A pirate ship attacked a Zanollian war craft and left it severely crippled. It anchored at Le'vani, and several groups were sent out to help put patches on the hull. Tarcua was assigned with Chuck's team, and he discovered a girl aboard that belonged to the Sea Eyes pirates. He turned the girl into the authorities at the fort in hopes of gaining the trust of the superiors, most especially the colonel Alistair the Affable. Tarcua and Aaron became friends while at Fort Le'vani, and Tarcua confessed his sins to Aaron, even though he didn't know much about right and wrong. Aaron told Tarcua about Sabra, and Tarcua decided Sabra was an honorable person. Aaron had a vision of a golden wolf prowling towards a red heron, and that same night Tarcua had a dream of a golden Unia'a pointing his bow at a flying red heron, preparing to shoot. Aaron spoke to Tarcua about his dream, and Tarcua knew that Sabra was in danger from the Hunters. Aaron requested soon after that Alistair release Tarcua from custody, even at risk of royal discipline from the Zanollian royal family. However, Aaron trusted that Devin would understand the situation. Tarcua was sent eastward with a ship of civilians, and met Whitney. They stayed together up to the Hope Islands, where she magically transported them to Trio. He learned that she was more than she first seemed, but did not quite understand fully what she was. They met Kratchek, Valer, and Fran, who had been sent by Kiaser to find Sabra. Together they formulate a plan to break into the Lunar Temple and Hunter compound to free Sabra. Kratchek provided distraction with his magic while Tarcua sneaked into the tunnels as a Hunter slave, having removed his silver plates from under his jaw and implanted it them into his back in the shape of a bursting star. He located Sabra in her cell, recently having undergone Extraction, and provides her with inspiration after his cleansing experience with Aaron. He presumably located her armor and dagger, which had been forcefully taken away through Oxuual's torture, and left the tunnels before Sabra destroyed just about everything within them. Aaron and Whitney As Fall waxed strong in Zanoll, Aaron met Whitney Heronsword on the beach near Fort Le'vani. She reassured him that Sabra was safe, and Aaron realized that Whitney had become a resurrected angel. Whitney expressed her regret in not being able to help Sabra after her death, and had fulfilled such desire with helping Sabra escape the Hunters. They shared a loving kiss and embrace before she departed from Libera. Category:Books